Nicolas Cage can soon be seen in the Amazon Prime Video superhero series, Spider-Man Noir, which ranks as one of his highest-profile recent projects. However, this summer Cage is set to reunite with John Woo for the first time since their 2002 WW2 epic, Windtalkers, which followed their iconic 1997 pairing in Face/Off. They will now be working on a crime film about the notorious New York crime kingpin Carlo Gambino, titled Gambino. Woo will be directing the film from a screenplay written by George Gallo, known for Midnight Run, the first Bad Boys and Double Take, and Oscar winner Nick Vallelonga, whose credits include the Academy Award-winning Green Book.
Per Deadline, “The movie will follow Oscar winner Cage’s Carlo Gambino, a butcher’s son from Sicily, who rules New York’s underworld with quiet authority. But when his death sends shockwaves through the city, Pulitzer-winning journalist Jimmy Breslin follows the trail he left behind to uncover the man beneath the legend. Through the voices of those who loved him and those who feared him, Breslin peels back the composure that masked Gambino’s ruthlessness, revealing how this outsider rose to redefine power, loyalty and the American dream.”
According to Screen International, the film is now set to shoot this summer in Atlanta, Georgia. Cassian Elwes will be producing with Edward Zeng (Following Harry) of NextG Films, Robert Daly Jr and David Lipper of Latigo Films (Not Without Hope). NextG Films is also financing with the backing of Entertainment and sports entrepreneur Gils Aubry’s Icarus Entertainment Fund. Nicolas Cage, George Gallo and Nick Vallelonga are also attached to produce the film.
As fans of John Woo, any new movie from the iconic Hong Kong director is a welcome proposition, although his last two movies, Silent Night and his ill-advised remake of The Killer, were far from his best work. However, Woo is also in the midst of a welcome resurgence, with his classic Hong Kong movies like Hard-Boiled, A Better Tomorrow and Bullet in the Head having recently been re-released theatrically and on 4K disc by Shout Selects. Perhaps a re-team with Cage is just what the doctor ordered, and it will be cool to see Woo return to the crime genre, with the A Better Tomorrow series a pretty classic example of the genre.